Sled



L. E. KRAUSS Aug. 4, 1942.

SLED

Filed March 31, 1941 Patented Aug. 4, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to sleds of the type having flexible runners and it is one object of the invention to provide a sled of this type wherein the top of the sled is mounted for transverse movement and so mounted on the chassis that when the top is tilted transversely in one direction or the other, the runners will be flexed in the direction in which the top is tilted and guiding movement imparted to the sled.

Another object of the invention is to so connect the top with the chassis that when the top is tilted transversely, brackets connecting front and rear portions of the top to yokes of the chassis, will exert transverse stress in a direction opposite to that in which stress is applied to a yoke midway the length of the sled. Therefore, the opposed stresses will so act on the resilient runners that forward portions of the runners will be sprung transversely in the direction in which the top is tilted and guiding movement imparted to the sled.

Another object of the invention is to provide spring means carried by the top and bearing against abutments carried by a yoke in such manner that the top will be normally held level and urged toward its normally level position after being tilted. It will thus be seen that the spring will yieldably resist tilting of the top and tend to return it to normal position after the top has been tilted, return of the top to level position 1.

being aided by the resiliency of the runners.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sled of the flexible runner type which is simple in construction, strong, and very easy to guide by merely shifting the weight toward one side or the other of the sled when a turn is to be made.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved sled.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale, on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

The improved sled constituting the subject matter of this invention has a top I formed of longitudinally extending slats 2 which are nailed or otherwise secured on bolsters 3, 4 and 5. Side strips 5 are also fixed to the bolsters and are of greater thickness than the slats. extend the full width of the top and have longitudinally curved lower edge faces, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that the top may tilt transversely to the positions indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, without interference by the bolsters.

The bolsters Li The chassis of the sled has runners 1 formed of resilient metal, such as steel, and these runners are riveted, welded, or otherwise secured to yokes 8, 9 and Ill. The cross bars ll of the rear yoke l0 and the intermediate yoke 9 carry depending brackets I2 having downwardly diverging legs secured at their lower ends to the runners and the front yoke 8 has a. cross bar l3 which is secured directly to the ends of the upwardly curved forward portions of the runners, the brackets 14 of this yoke being mounted against under faces of the runners and serving as reinforcements for the runners.

In order to tiltably mount the top over the chassis, there have been provided plates l5, l6 and I1. These brackets are formed of strong metal and are of substantially triangular shape, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. A pair of plates is provided between each bolster and the companion cross bar and disposed against opposite side faces thereof, the wide ends of the plates being fixedly secured by bolts l8 spaced transversely from each other and the tapered ends of the plates being secured by bolts [9 which serve as pivot pins. Since the plates I5 and I! are fixed at their lower ends to the cross bars of the front and rear yokes 8 and I0 and pivoted to the bolsters 3 and 5, and the brackets l6 are fixed at their upper ends to the bolster 4 and have their lower ends pivoted to the cross bar of the yoke 9, tilting of the top toward the right or left will cause the front and rear plates to exert thrust in the direction in which the top is tilted and the intermediate plates to exert thrust in the opposite direction. Therefore, when the top is tilted in one direction, the runners will be subjected to flexing force which will tend to bow them transversely and the forward portions of the runners will be flexed in the direction in which a turn is to be made.

After a turn has been made, it is merely necessary to restore the top to its level position and the runners will be straightened. The resiliency of the runners tends to straighten the runners but, in order to urge the top toward its level position and yieldably resist tilting thereof, there has been provided a spring 20. This spring, which extends transversely of the sled, is formed from a strip of spring steel and has a flat intermediate portion secured against the under face of the top and end portions which extend downwardly at an incline with their ends resting upon supporting plates or abutments 2| carried by and projecting forwardly from the intermediate yoke 9. Since the downwardly inclined portions of the spring are of equal strength, they will tend to hold the top in normally level position and when the top is tilted downwardly toward the right or left for steering the sled, the depressed portion of the spring will urge the top upwardly and restore it to its normal position. It will thus be seen that the sled may be steered very easily Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A sled comprising a top, a chassis including runners yieldable transversely, and members between the top and chassis spaced from each other longitudinally of the sled and constituting pivotal connections between the top and chassis whereby transverse tilting of the top serves to flex the runners transversely for steering the sled.

2. A sled comprising a top, a chassis including runners yieldable transversely and transversely extending yokes carrying the runners and spaced from each other longitudinally thereof, and brackets between the top and the yokes mounting the top for transverse rocking movement, certain of the brackets being pivoted to the top adjacent ends thereof and fixed to the companion yokes and the other brackets being fixed to the top midway the length thereof and pivoted to the companion yoke whereby transverse tilting of the top shifts the last mentioned yoke longitudinally in a direction opposite to that of the first yokes to effect flexing of the runners for guiding the sled.

3. A sled comprising a top, a chassis including runners yieldable transversely, brackets fixed to the chassis and pivoted to front and rear portions of the top, a bracket fixed to the top mid way the length thereof and pivoted to the chassis whereby transverse tiltin of the top flexes the runners transversely, and spring means yieldably resisting tilting of the top.

4. A sled comprising a top having end bolsters and an intermediate bolster, a chassis having end yokes and an intermediate yoke, resilient runners carried by the yokes, each yoke consisting of a cross bar and depending brackets carried by ends of the cross bars and fixed to said runners, pivot plates fixed to cross bars of the end yokes midway the width of the chassis and projecting upwardly therefrom with their upper ends pivoted to the end bolsters, a pivot plate fixed to the intermediate bolster midway the width of the top and projecting downwardly therefrom with its lower end pivoted to the cross bar of the intermediate yoke, said pivot plates mounting the top for transverse tilting movement and causing transverse flexing of forward portions of the runners to steer the sled, and resilient means yieldably resisting tilting of the top.

5. A sled comprising a top having end bolsters and an intermediate bolster, a chassis having end yokes and an intermediate yoke, resilient runners carried by the yokes, each yoke consisting of a cross bar and depending brackets carried by ends of the cross bars and fixed to said runners, pivot plates fixed to cross bars of the end yokes midway the width of the chassis and projecting upwardly therefrom with their upper ends pivoted to the end bolsters, a pivot plate fixed to the intermediate bolster midway the width of the top and projecting downwardly therefrom with its lower end pivoted to the cross bar of the intermediate yoke, said pivot plates mounting the top for transverse tilting movement and causing transverse flexing of forward portions of the runners to steer the sled, a leaf spring extending transversely of the sled and having its intermediate portion secured against the under face of the top and its end portions extending downwardly at an incline, and abutments carried by a yoke and engaged by ends of the spring to tension the spring and cause the spring to yieldably resist tilting of the top.

LOUIS E. KRAUSS. 

